A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

Liberians “(1)who are ineligible for TPS for the
reasons provided in section 244(c)(2)(B) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(c)
(2)(B); (2) whose removal [Dept. of Homeland
Security] determine[s] is in the interest of the United
States; (3) whose presence or activities in the United
States the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds
to believe would have potentially serious adverse
foreign policy consequences for the United States;
(4) who have voluntarily returned to Liberia or his
or her country of last habitual residence outside the
United States; (5) who were deported, excluded, or
removed prior to the date of this memorandum; or
(6) who are subject to extradition.”
326 rutH ellen wAsem & kArmA ester, Cong.
reseArCH serviCe, temPorAry ProteCted stAtus:
Current immigrAtion PoliCy And issues 4-5 (2008)
(noting that this design was a result of lengthy
Congressional negotiations throughout the 1980s
to provide safe haven to Salvadorans fleeing that
country’s civil war and to depoliticize the practice
of ad hoc safe haven determinations), http://assets.
opencrs.com/rpts/RS20844_20080930.pdf.
327 Personal communication from anonymous to
Michele Garnett McKenzie, Police Roll Call
Training, Brooklyn Center, Minn. (April 6, 2007).
328 Personal communication from Alice Tindi, Social
Worker, Center for Victims of Torture, to Michele
Garnett McKenzie (April 6, 2007).
329 Kerper Dwanyen, President, Organization of
Liberians in Minnesota, Testimony at the Diaspora
Public Hearings of the Truth & Reconciliation
Comm’n of Liberia 40-41 (June 14, 2008, St. Paul,
Minn., U.S.A.) (transcript on file with author).
330 Interview with Anonymous, Brooklyn Park, Minn.
(May 26, 2008).
331 Both bills have been re-introduced in the Senate and
House. The Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness
Act, S.F. 656, and the Liberian Refugee Immigration
Protection Act, H.R. 2258, would allow eligible
Liberians to apply for lawful permanent resident
status.
332 Interview with Anonymous, Brooklyn Park, Minn.
(May 23, 2008).
333 TRC Diaspora Statement Recs. 1323, 1437.
334 TRC Diaspora Statement Recs. 122, 1293.
335 Kerper Dwanyen, President, Organization of
386
Liberians in Minnesota, Testimony at the Diaspora
Public Hearings of the Truth & Reconciliation
Comm’n of Liberia 36-37 (June 14, 2008, St. Paul,
Minn., U.S.A.) (transcript on file with author).
336 Id.
337 Id. at 37.
338 TRC Diaspora Statement Rec. 789.
339 Id.
340 Kerper Dwanyen, President, Organization of
Liberians in Minnesota, Testimony at the Diaspora
Public Hearings of the Truth & Reconciliation
Comm’n of Liberia 37 (June 14, 2008, St. Paul,
Minn., U.S.A.) (transcript on file with author).
341 Analysis of TRC statements collected in the United
States reflects that every ethnic group in Liberia is
represented in the diaspora. See Appendix H.
342 TRC Diaspora Statement Recs. 33 and 1345.
343 Kerper Dwanyen, President, Organization of
Liberians in Minnesota, Testimony at the Diaspora
Public Hearings of the Truth & Reconciliation
Comm’n of Liberia 37 (June 14, 2008, St. Paul,
Minn., U.S.A.) (transcript on file with author).
344 Id. at 37-38.
345 TRC Diaspora Statement Rec. 1337.
346 See generally TRC Diaspora Project Focus Group,
Providence, R.I. (June 25, 2008) (Memorandum
from Dechert LLP, July 18, 2008 on file with author).
347 Id.
348 TRC Diaspora Statement Rec. 1329.
349 Telephone interview with Williametta Saydee-Tarr,
Prog. Coord., New Arrivals Resource Empowerment
Workshops, Refugee Services, Minn. Council of
Churches (Aug. 8, 2008).
350 Id.
351 Interview with Ada Beh, Co-founder, Minnesota
African Women’s Association (MAWA),
Minneapolis, Minn. (Sept. 4, 2008).
352 See generally Craig Hadley, et al., Acculturation, Economics
and Food Insecurity Among Refugees Resettled in the USA:
a Case Study of West African refugees, 10 Pub. HeAltH
nutrition 405-12 (2007).
353 Telephone interview with Jefferson Cooper, Liberian
diaspora journalist, Minneapolis, Minn. (Sept. 26,
2008).
354 Telephone interview with Williametta Saydee-Tarr,